Tag Archives: fairy tales

Please help me give a warm welcome to author Jamie Marchant. She is here to discuss her inspiration behind her first novel, The Goddess’s Choice. She will also be giving one lucky commenter a copy of her book. For your chance to win, leave a comment and on Monday, March 25, 2013 at 11:00am, I will use Random.org to select the lucky winner. Winner’s name will be announced later that day.

One question I’m often asked is where do you get the ideas for your writing. My first published novel, The Goddess’s Choice—an adult sword and sorcery fantasy novel—originated deep within my childhood. My sister Jalane–she is ten years older than me–would tell me and my younger sister stories, fairy tales mostly: “Midas and His Golden Touch,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Hanzel and Gretel.” But my favorite was always “The Princess and the Glass Hill” or “The Glass Mountain” as my sister titled it. Wendie and I would have her tell that story over and over again. I was captivated by the bold hero on his magical horses of bronze, silver, and gold.

As I got older, the story faded from my consciousness. Then in graduate school it came back to me for an essay I wrote. We were discussing children’s literature in a Women’s Studies course and had to do a personal essay on our experience with literature as a child. The story of “The Princess and the Glass Hill” figured heavily in that paper. I noted the inherit sexism of the story. The princess has no name, no personality, performs almost no actions. She is not even described. She is nothing more than the prize–a trophy–to be handed off to the lucky man who wins her father’s contest. How she feels about the matter is not discussed, not even thought of, as I did not think about it when I was a child. I identified with the bold young hero of the tale, not the nearly invisible princess waiting at the top of the mountain with her golden apples.

Two years after graduate school, “The Glass Mountain” made another appearance when I had a child. My son Jesse loved it every bit as much as I had and requested I tell it again and again.

One day after telling it to him, I realized that the story could be so much more than the few pages and sparse details devoted to it in either the original or my sister’s version. Suddenly the image came to me of a peasant boy, Robbie, sleeping on a straw mattress in the cramped attic of his father’s farmhouse. That detail didn’t survive into the final version, but it generated the story. I also knew that my princess would be no passive character in the tale of another, as she was in “The Glass Mountain.” Rather, she’d be as strong and fully developed as Robbie–a true heroine to match his hero. After several attempts to get her right, I flashed on the image that proved to be the key to unlocking her character: Samantha being dressed by her chamber maids for yet another dreaded ball, wishing she were out riding her horse.
I didn’t want to write a children’s story, however, but the type of epic fantasy I enjoy as an adult. I upped the dramatic tension, villainy, and sexuality of the piece to create something far different from the original fairy tale. The Goddess’s Choice is intended for an adult audience.

Here is my review of the selection of children’s books available at My Sister’s Books. This will appear on their website as well as in a special children’s edition of their newsletter!

Enjoy!

Children’s Books

My Sister’s Books offers a wide range of children’s books. They have the classic fairy tale books, pop-up books and board books. Young children will adore the bright and colorful pictures, while parents can reminisce about their childhood. For those who are beginning to read, there is a wide selection of beginner’s books arranged by reading levels. These range from simple, short sentences all the way to longer, multiple sentences on a page. Each level helps build a child’s vocabulary along with helping them learn how to read.
There are local children’s authors featured as well. These include stories about the sea turtles, to learning about the water cycle and the value of rain. Another option for an older child, is the selection of big brother/big sister books. These books are dedicated to helping a child get used to the idea of a new baby, while providing them an outlet to express their true feelings. These books are cute and will have parents laughing, too!
Lastly, there are school subject activity books for parents looking to help a child transition from one grade to the next. These books are vital for young children during long breaks, such as summertime. They have fun activities that help reinforce current curriculum, while slowly introducing topics that will be covered in the following year. These books range from Pre K-K to 6th grade-7th grade.

Hello World!

My name is Nicole. I am an Aries, and an avid reader. I have always loved to read. Thanks to my Mom and my Grandmother, I was never in short supply of books. I would read whatever I could get my hands on. I have devised this blog to start sharing my thoughts and reviews on the amazing books in this vastly expanding world of literature. Here readers should be able to find some books they may know and new books to discover from each genre. Each category will be dedicated to a certain genre, so you will be able to click quickly to your favorites. My goal is to become a full-time book reviewer, and be able to discuss books with fellow readers, so feel free to leave comments and suggestions. But most importantly, please enjoy the world of books!